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The Overlords, Page Four
Continuing with The Overlords of Paradigm City Parasol, Overlord of Darkness Falls Please see Parasol on the Villains Tab for detailed Information Scarecrow, Overlord of The Row; Millennium City Look back on your childhood, Johnathan Crane. What do you see? A sickly boy, a frail boy; a boy incapable of earning his father's love because the father was afraid that without sports, without strength; it was a boy that would only shame him. A man, afraid. A boy that a mother could love; a mother too protective and too unwilling to let the boy out into the world. A woman who was afraid, afraid of everything. It all starts with fear, doesn't it? Now fast forward to high school. Do you remember what fun high school was? The beautiful daughter of a shipping magnate whom captured your heart but would have nothing to do with you because she was too afraid you'd spoil her image. Remember her? The boys in all the sports teams who pushed you around, knocked you down because you were so thin and feeble, the ones who called you Ichabod, and scarecrow. Why did they behave that way? Why, fear; of course. Fear that you would always be smarter than they were. Fear surrounds you. Touches you, dances with you. Face it, Johnathan. You are ''fear. Then, medical school. Being laughed at because your theories on fear and phobias were laughed at, called puerile, and went against everything modern psychiatry advocated. That fear could be triggered chemically and, just as easily, removed the same way. When you received your Doctorates in psychology, and pharmacology, and chemistry; you were bound and determined to prove your theories correct. So you tested your chemical on yourself. And it worked! You were no longer afraid. You could no longer be afraid. Ahh, but the side effects. The side-effects, those were amazing. The strength to bend steel bars. A complete removal of fatigue poisons, and an amplification of the body's own healing response. Fantastic! Oh it didn't matter that the aerosol also removed your ability to care about right or wrong, that it utterly removed any trace of what simpletons would call a conscious. But you had to know more. You had to understand the very nature of fear. And so, I came calling. I, Scarecrow. I taught you everything, Johnathan Crane. I taught you how to make poisons, and toxins, and gasses of all kinds; specifically kinds that would instantly trigger fear and panic in others; some that could instill permanent phobias, some that could drive men mad. Oh, how we loved it. Oh, how we laughed together. It was I, if you recall, that showed you how to destroy the Row, and make it your own kingdom. I, who showed you how to bring a team together, how to earn their loyalty, how to make them monsters. The Nightmare Squad. It was I, Johnathan, that made everything possible. I, Johnathan Crane. I, Scarecrow. Scarecrow employs three super-human individuals, called the Nightmare Squad, that helps him keep the Row and the rowdy gangs that work for Scarecrow in check. Each of these individuals in the Squad is modeled after a specific fear or phobia, which can be very problematic for crime fighters that suffer from such fears. The information about on the Squad was obtained by Thumbelina, after her last go-around with Scarecrow. It's written in Crane's own hand. *'Haunt': "Formula x-24 has seen resounding success in the 16th subject. Unlike his previous fifteen test subjects, 16 has developed super-powers. This fact has actually pleased him. He has taken the rather pointless and unnecessary name of Haunt, though if these creatures must be given code-names I would have vastly preferred Thanatophobia. He insisted on Haunt. I suspect he takes such joy in his newfound abilities because he has something of an inferiority complex, but he has shown a remarkable talent for leadership among the other test subjects. Because of this, I have determined that subject 16, Haunt, shall be the leader of the squad. If nothing else, he is the one most suited to keeping them in line, as his touch exponentially causes severe pain until the victims organs rupture. Pleasant." *'Hemo'. "Replicating the success of X-24 has been unsuccessful, ten more test subjects died. Pity. I think that there is some genetic aspect that made Haunt survive, I will have to investigate further. Subject 6 of Serum 827 survived the hallucinations and convulsions, unlike the others. When the drug ran it's course, he cried. Interesting, more so because his tears were tears of blood. The unexpected side effect of the serum has left the subject with grey, pebbled skin, tremendous physical strength, and consistent pain. The subject, whom I have called Hemo, was not agreeable to his new condition and, I assume because of some idiotic notion that he would have power over me, attempted to do me physical harm. When he was later finished screaming, I allowed him to take out his frustrations on the bikers in a local bar nearby. He is mollified." *'Pestilence '''"Mastermind himself came to observe my experiments, after hearing of my two successes. As Formula X-24 has produced no further successes; nor has Serum 827, I combined the two an injected only a single subject. It was a pure stroke of luck, for I was spared the trauma of seeming a bumbling fool in the presence of our benefactor. The subject, given the tongue-in-cheek name of Pestilence by Mastermind, is able to inflict his victim with any virulent disease he so desires. Mastermind volunteered his own chauffeur for Pestilence's first test. The poor driver was dead inside of ten seconds from Lung Cancer, Ebola, and Rabies. Very interesting indeed." Shadowlord, Overlord of Wideview Probably the most enigmatic of the Overlords, the Shadowlord is known by name only. Not even any of the other Overlords, with the sole exception of Mastermind, can put a face to the name. But there is no denying that Shadowlord controls every single aspect of crime and criminal activity taking place in Wideview. He directs his personal army, The Rats, with laser precision. The crimes that he masterminds almost always go off without a hitch, well beyond the talents of even the smartest Rat. Viscous mutant animals, killer robots, and horrific genetic experiments wandering Wideview have all been placed at the feet of the Shadowlord. By far though, the most feared contribution that Shadowlord has made to The Advent is the malignant killer androids called Marionettes. A single marionette would give even a powerhouse like Doctor Destroyer or Paragon pause, for the number of superheroes whom have survived an encounter with a marionette can be, literally, counted on one hand. Marionettes are designed to be hero killers. They have a weapon systems capable of handling any heroic threat or super-power: blasters get a flotilla of military grade firepower sent back at them. Tankers find themselves attacked with anti-tank ballistics. And because marionettes have computer programs and are incapable of independent thought Mentalists cannot affect them at all. However, by far the worst of the marionettes' ability is their defensive systems. They can, instantly, adapt at the molecular level to any attack thrown at them. Fire attacks will cause them to transform their outer substrates into fireproof materials. A tanker's heavy blow will cause them to rearrange their molecular density to the point of being impervious to damage, and so on. Smart heroes know to run, instantly, when facing a Marionette. Thankfully for most heroes, though, a Marionette sent against them by the Shadowlord is a very drastic and last resort measure. The lucky heroes are the ones whom go an entire career without irking this mysterious Overlord enough to send out a Marionette, which will likely be the last climactic battle a hero ever has. And finally, the last of the Overlords found on The Overlords, Page 5 Category:Overlords Category:Villains